Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy. I again stress that there are very clearly elements of the plan put forward that are not realistic, not credible and will not be accepted by Ukraine and will certainly not be accepted by the EU. We must, though, use this as a framework and basis for discussions, which, to date, have not taken place. It is very clear that this is an illegal war, very clear that Vladimir Putin is responsible for war crimes and very clear that these are continuing as we speak, so we need to make sure that Ireland's voice is strong. We must continue to put pressure on Russia. In our conversations last week at the Foreign Affairs Council - and the 19th sanctions package is currently under way - there was a proposal and suggestion on a 20th package of sanctions. It is about how we can make sure we impose as much pressure on Russia as possible to try to bring it to the table, so that any negotiations around a peace process and a ceasefire are fair and balanced. It is important that Russia does feel pressure because, to date, for a lot of this ongoing war, Russia has not felt the pressure that it needs to. In Europe, we need to do everything we can through sanctions, diplomatic channels and our work with the US to make sure we can bring about a lasting peace. Again, this is not just about Ukraine, albeit that country is front and centre. This is already starting to seep into the security of European member states and we need to make sure it does not go any further.

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